Risk of adverse events related to spinal manipulation is a concern for osteopathic and other health care professionals who use this intervention for pain relief in patients with musculoskeletal dysfunction.1 Researchers in Norway performed a rigorously designed prospective, single-blinded, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial (RCT) using chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy (CSMT) for patients with migraines to assess adverse events (AE) after the manual intervention.

Ninety-seven patients with migraines (83 women) aged 18 to 70 years were recruited from general practitioner offices and media advertisements. Participants who had at least 1 migraine attack per month were randomly assigned to the CSMT group, a placebo group (received nonspecific manual touch and nontherapeutic push maneuver), or a control group (continued usual medications). Interventions were applied during twelve 15-minute sessions over 3 months. The researchers compared the AEs of participants who completed the study from the 2 intervention groups (n=70). Outcomes were assessed at 3, 6, and 12 months.

Subscribe to view more

For full access to this article, log in to an existing user account, purchase an annual subscription, or purchase a short-term subscription.